Title Vaquita : science, politics, and crime in the Sea of Cortez / Brooke Bessesen ; foreword by Carl Safina.

Descript 1 online resource (xvii, 296 pages) : illustrations, map Women lcdgt Marine biologists lcdgt Conservationists lcdgt Arizonans lcdgt Americans lcdgt Note Text in English. Bibliog. Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-283) and index. Contents Foreword -- "Goodbye Baiji" -- Prologue -- The dead girl -- Resource extraction -- Chasing a myth -- Tangled agendas -- Death, drugs, and accountability -- Pirates on patrol -- Searching for Vaquita -- Hearing is believing -- Science in the sea -- Witnessing extinction -- Saving Bigfoot -- Sending out an SOS -- Meet the totoaba -- Last-ditch effort -- Hope is a life raft (with a persistent leak) -- Epilogue. Summary "In 2006, the last of China's Yangtze river dolphins--baiji--succumbed to extinction, and la vaquita marina, a diminutive porpoise endemic to the Upper Gulf of California, quietly and without fanfare inherited the title of world's most endangered marine mammal. Unlike many other critically endangered species, the vaquita is not hunted. Nor is its habitat disappearing or degraded. The species is even protected by law. Why then have its numbers plummeted to near extinction when few humans have seen it live in the wild? The answer lies in a shadowy mix of international cartels, fishermen entrapped by politics and culture, and an unlikely fish called the totoaba. In this haunting story, Brooke Bessesen sets out to Mexico's Upper Gulf region to untangle the intricacies of the biology, acoustical science, and international intrigues behind the vaquita's decline. She interviews townspeople, fishermen, politicians, scientists, and activists, teasing apart a complex story filled with villains and heroes, a story whose outcome is unclear. When diplomatic and political efforts to save the little porpoise fail, Bessesen follows a team of veterinary experts in a binational effort to capture the last remaining vaquitas and breed them in captivity--the best hope for their survival."--Jacket Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide Subject Phocoena sinus. Rare mammals -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. Endangered species -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. Wildlife conservation -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. Endangered ecosystems -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. Poaching -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. Totoaba fisheries -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. Phocoena sinus -- Conservation -- Social aspects. Phocoena sinus -- Conservation -- Economic aspects. Wildlife conservation -- Social aspects -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. Wildlife conservation -- Economic aspects -- Mexico -- California, Gulf of. California, Gulf of (Mexico) -- Commerce. California, Gulf of (Mexico) -- Environmental conditions. NATURE -- Animals -- Marine Life. NATURE -- Endangered Species. NATURE -- Environmental Conservation & Protection. Commerce. (OCoLC)fst00869279 Ecology. (OCoLC)fst00901476 Endangered ecosystems. (OCoLC)fst00909648 Endangered species. (OCoLC)fst00909658 Phocoena sinus. (OCoLC)fst01061199 Poaching. (OCoLC)fst01067580 Rare mammals. (OCoLC)fst01090173 Totoaba fisheries. (OCoLC)fst01153066 Wildlife conservation. (OCoLC)fst01175253 Wildlife conservation -- Economic aspects. (OCoLC)fst01175260 Wildlife conservation -- Social aspects. (OCoLC)fst01175284 Pacific Ocean -- Gulf of California. (OCoLC)fst01333849 Alt Author Safina, Carl, writer of foreword. ISBN 9781610919326 (electronic book) 1610919327 (electronic book) 9781610919319 (hardcover) 1610919319 (hardcover)